Health System Specialist - Research Compliance Officer

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/26/2026. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment. Individual Occupational Requirement: Progressively responsible analytical or administrative, or clinical management or supervisory experience in the health care field. This work may have been performed in an operating health care facility or a higher organizational echelon with advisory or directional authority over such facilities. Work must have involved a close working relationship with facility managers and analysis and/or coordination of administrative, clinical, or other service activities, and provided knowledge of the following: Missions, organizations, programs, and requirements of health care delivery systems Regulations and standards of various regulatory and credentialing groups Government-wide, agency, and facility systems and requirements in various administrative areas such as budget, personnel, and procurement In addition to the Individual Occupational Requirement, you may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience includes what is stated in the above Individual Occupational Requirement, as well as: Applying federal research regulations and institutional policies in areas such as human subjects protection, animal research oversight, laboratory safety, privacy/security, conflicts of interest, and research misconduct, ensuring regulatory compliance and program integrity. Conducting audits, monitoring, inspections, investigations, or quality assurance reviews within research, healthcare, regulatory, or scientific programs, and documenting findings for leadership. Performing compliance analyses to identify risks, deficiencies, or system vulnerabilities, and recommending corrective actions, process improvements, or internal control enhancements. Providing compliance guidance, training, technical assistance, and policy interpretation to researchers, staff, committees, or program stakeholders to support regulatory adherence and operational effectiveness. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, three (3) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, or LL.M in the related field of the position to be filled (i.e., hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration). The education portion must include courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. NOTE: Education must have been obtained in an accredited college, or university. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond graduate level education (beyond a master's degree or beyond 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education) and specialized experience as described above to meet total experience requirements. My education portion includes graduate courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do to the work of this position (i.e., hospital administration, public health administration, or related fields such as business or public administration with course work in health care administration). OR, Special Provision for Inservice Placement: Successful completion of an agency-sponsored on-the-job training program may be substituted for qualifying experience, provided it included a formal individualized training plan. Such a training program must have been conducted in an operating health care system and included: Assignments providing a knowledge of basic health system administration philosophies, practices, and procedures, and basic government administrative policies and requirements; Practical assignments providing an opportunity to apply health system administration skills and principles (as the individual progresses, work assignments must be characteristic of the grade level to which he or she is assigned); and Oversight by an experienced health system administrator with periodic evaluation of the individual's progress and appropriate adjustment of the training program. (Documentation supporting training must be provided) For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination. Physical Demands: Work is primarily sedentary. Some walking, standing, and travel between sites required during audits and facility inspections. Working Conditions: Work is typically performed in an office setting, with occasional visits to laboratories, research clinics, and animal facilities, requiring the use of safety precautions. This position is located in the Corporate Compliance Department of the Iowa City VA Health Care System. The department is responsible for promoting institutional integrity through monitoring and oversight of organizational compliance with applicable laws, regulations, policies, and procedures. The primary purpose of the position is to plan, implement, and oversee a research compliance program that ensures adherence to federal and VA research regulations.